In response to election meddling, Facebook data breaches, other social media issues and unsatisfactory response from Zuck, the U.S. Senate intelligence committee hawk Mark Warner (D) has circulated this policy paper threatening new regulation. I have attached the whitepaper.

A lot of thought has gone into this and it's clear that the US intends to introduce a wide array of bills that will have significant impact on online communities.

Some highlights:

Duty to label bots

Duty to label origin of posts & accounts

Duty to identify fake accounts

Make platforms liable for defamation, false light, public disclosure of private facts, failure to take down fake audio/video content.

Public Interest Data Access Bill

Task Force for countering threats to democratic institutions.

Privacy & Data protection & GDPR like legislation.

Fines possibly similar to the GDPR (millions)

Major social media companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Spotify seem to have responded by banning InfoWars from their services.

Attached Files:

As to the liability for defamation.... the suggestion is so poorly examined that one has to question the source of such a foolish blanket statement. In one sentence he says how the ability to create fabricated content is becoming easier, including video. And in the same breath he says that it's indistinguishable, the victim has to search for it and the online providers are in the best position to identify and remove it.... without even saying anything as to how that is true or possible. A career politician, lol.

To be fair to Mr. Warner, that is just a policy proposal document. It points out the various issues and threats that exist and need addressing through policy. It doesn't (nor should it) attempt to provide detailed solutions. If it is adopted, it will take a great deal of work with policy and subject matter experts to develop actual policies that will form any proposed bill.

Major social media companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Spotify seem to have responded by banning InfoWars from their services.

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Kinda makes you wonder whether Westboro Baptist Church was actually just trying to warn us all about Facebook, Apple, Google and Spotify for all of these years. Alex Jones probably knew this all along.

Kinda makes you wonder whether Westboro Baptist Church was actually just trying to warn us all about Facebook, Apple, Google and Spotify for all of these years. Alex Jones probably knew this all along.

Why not fix the education system instead? The problem isn't disinformation, "fake news" and conspiracy theories, the problem is that there are too many stupid people who believe them in the first place.

Why not fix the education system instead? The problem isn't disinformation, "fake news" and conspiracy theories, the problem is that there are too many stupid people who believe them in the first place.

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Because that would require actual work. They are fine with the current state of education in America because it supplies them with endless people that vote based on their feelings. Education in America is terrible and expensive by design. They have to keep the student loan bubble going because when it finally implodes the economy goes with it.

I don't know if it's similar to the system we've recently adopted in the UK but it's pretty obvious now it's been implemented, there's no easy way back and the tipping point is already in sight.

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Basically over here they convince starry eyed high school kids that trade work is only for the lower class and that you need to get a degree in something to be successful. Most people's parents can't afford sending their kids to college by themselves so those kids end up taking out loans with large interest rates. Most of them end up working in the service industry (retail, Mcdonalds, Starbucks) even after they graduate because they either went for a degree in soft sciences or there are no jobs hiring in their fields.

For example, when I was going through in the 90s/early 00s we were constantly told that we needed a degree in something related to computers but by the time we were finishing up school and ready to enter the job market most of those jobs were outsourced or people from elsewhere in the world were allowed in on Visa's to do the work for less money than a native citizen. I'm not against immigrants coming legally for work but I don't like this system where they can import someone on a temp. basis and pay him a very low wage/threaten to kick him out of the country if he doesn't fall in line.

Most people are better off learning a trade and building a career based on that but again it's seen as something for the lower classes. A lot of those types of jobs actively keep young folks out of them with aging workers refusing to retire because they've been screwed out of pensions/retirement benefits and the lack of apprenticeship programs. It's nearly impossible to study under a skilled worker now-a-days or learn on the job. Even simple jobs want to see a 2 year degree on your resume. A lot of people end up doing temp. work/jobs full time now and like most of the industry it's a revolving door or people that don't care and don't plan on ever moving into anything full time. I've did a bit of that myself in the last few years and I can safely say that 99% of my fellow employees failed the drug tests but were allowed to work (at least for a few months) because no one sane would accept the hours we were forced to work. I'm talking 7 days a week, 14-16 hour days, with one 30 minute break and the constant threat of being fired if you spoke out about it. I was offered a full time position twice and turned it down because I didn't like being treated that way and I knew management was even worse.

Anyway college is a huge scam now unless you're going to a private school and have the funds to pay for it out of pocket. Even then you're getting screwed because the costs are insane. I'm not sure what we're going to do here once the bubble pops. It feels like the build up to the housing bubble popping. I know most of my peers never paid back their loans and don't plan to. Strangely, they know how rigged things are but they still plan on sending their own kids to college. I understand wanting to seek higher education but when the deck is stacked like that the best move is not playing at all.

With tech jobs the best way to break in is working on open source projects related to the field you want to work in and putting that work on your resume. You'll get screened out at most places for not having a degree but if you keep applying you'll eventually run into a company that values work ethic over a piece of paper.

What changed about the UK system? I know the grade system is different there in that the last two years of high school are called college but not much past that.

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Equal opportunities played a part, the notion that everyone should have a chance at a university education and some professions such as nursing became degree based. However the biggest change was a huge hike in university fees, loans that the majority of students will never pay off in their lifetime. Even now most people in the UK don't seem to realise that these loans are subject to interest rate changes which are way beyond bank interest rates.

It's also become apparent that the income from these loans is nowhere near as high as expected. There are many reasons for this but the bottom line is the short fall will one day have a profound effect on the UK economy. My daughter is one exam away from being a fully qualified actuary. She's 23 and already earning nearly double the national average wage. It's unlikely she will ever earn enough to pay off her university loan which will be written off when she's 50. That should put some perspective on the miscalculations that were made when these fees were introduced.

Yeah that sounds really similar to the US system. Everything you've said is how it works over here;
-Certain fields suddenly requiring degrees
-High interest rate loans from shady loan sharks
-Hard to find work in a field after graduation despite a great resume and good grades

Just be thankful she's found a good paying job. My brother is in a similar situation where he makes about double the average wage in our state but will be paying back his loans for many years to come. He's already in his 30s and they're still hanging over his head. He got his degree from a school considered a diploma mill that is now out of business but the loan is still following him around. I'm not sure how things will work out for him if he ever wants to go work for another company. The loan also hurt my father who co-signed it and he's had to delay retirement for many years because of it.

Be on the lookout for schools you've never heard of suddenly popping up. We have a lot of diploma mills here now that advertise in similar ways and pander to people that don't have the money to go to a traditional school. They all make the same promises: You can get a loan to come here easily, get your degree on the internet/at home, have your degree in half the time of a traditional school, guaranteed job once you've graduated, look at all these happy students that just got their degree don't you want to be like them!?

Equal opportunities played a part, the notion that everyone should have a chance at a university education

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I wanted to comment on this as well. This has been something they've pushed here since I've been around (last 30 years or so) where everyone "deserves" a shot at college even if they didn't apply themselves at all in school as a child. We have a huge problem with student athletes that are never required to learn anything and often can not read getting passed all through middle/high school because no one wants to fail the football stars. It's enforced at every level to the point where these students often have tutors assigned to them that just complete all their school work for them.

These same students get free rides to major universities where they aren't required to do any school work. The students that do apply themselves and work hard for academic scholarships are often denied in favor of these people and end up having to pay for school out of pocket.

The reality in the old days was if higher education wasn't for you it simply wasn't for you. There was a chance for everyone to make it in based on their skills and they were taken first above athletes. Now the reverse is true; Football and basketball players are taken first and the few scholarships left over are given to students on friendly terms with whomever is in charge to making that decision. I've seen a lot of dirty things going down with the Guidance counselors and office employees involved in this process in my time. My brother was someone denied free school due to this and it was very blatant why the kids that beat him out managed to get them. I stay out of other people's business when possible but I do know two of the kids that were given those scholarships ended up just dropping out of school anyway. School didn't matter to them because they are content living off trust funds for the rest of their lives.

I know most of my peers never paid back their loans and don't plan to.

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Hopefully they didn't get federally subsidized student loans. On the federal the government is able to garnish your wage, your Social Security check, your federal tax refund and even your disability benefits if you draw them. Further they can sue you and if they win (which they usually do) they can place a lien on your property and even force you to sell it.

It's enforced at every level to the point where these students often have tutors assigned to them that just complete all their school work for them.

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Adrian Peterson ring a bell for anybody in the US? My son went to school with him and the ONLY reason he passed was due to tutoring (basically others doing his homework) and the wink-wink/nudge-nudge of the cheating. A common joke was that he could play football, but couldn't spell it.
I understand the same behavior followed him to college on the tutoring.
I went to school with his mother (Bonita) and she got a scholarship for her track ability, but she also had the smarts to pass.